Car-coupling



No. 6|2,05l. Patented Oct. Il, |898.

J. MUNTDN. CAR COUPLING.

(Application filed Aug. 8, 189B (No Model.)`

Il Il -lul Mall.;

NTTED STATES PATENT Price.

JAMES MUNTON, OF MAYWOOD, ILLINOIS.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 612,051, dated October11, 1898.

Application lledAugust 8, 1898.

n To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES MUNTON, a citi- ,zen of the United States,residing in May- Wood, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Car-Couplings, of which thefollowing is a speciiication.

This invention relates to an automatic carcoupling, and more especiallyto the devices for locking the coupler.

It has been found that in actual service the ordinary gravitylocking-pin which holds the pivoted knuckle closed is liable to workloose by lifting or creeping up, as it is termed, especially under thecombined intermittent action of pulling strains and the up and downvibrations of the car when in motion. This has sometimes resulted in theuncoupling of the cars and in serious accident, and some eifort has beenmade to provide the means for securing the locking-pin against thisupward gripping action. It is the design of the present improvement topreserve all of the Serial. No. 688,042. (No model.)

understood from the claims herein and theV subjoined description, takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical central section of thecoupler provided with my improvement, the coupler being shown with thelocking-pin down in the locked position or closed. Fig. 2 is a similarsection showing the coupler open, the pin raised or unlocked. Fig. 3 isa horizontal section on the line 3 3 of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a transversevertical section on the line 4t 4 of Fig. l; and Figs. 5 and 6 areperspective views, respectively, of the upper and the lower parts of thetwo-part wedge-acting coupling-pin or lock.

In said drawings, A is the coupling-head, B the pivoted knuckle, and Cthe pivot-pin, all of which may be of ordinary construction and whichrequire no special description.

The two-part wedge-acting coupling-pin or lock is of peculiarconstruction and made as follows: The upper part D, which is providedgood qualities of the gravity locking-pin, its simplicity of operationand action, and its strength and durability, and at the same time makeprovision such that without any separate fastening device the pin cannotcreep up or be forced up by a force applied to its lower part, while atthe same time the construction is so contrived that said pin can bereadily lifted from its upper part and also be retained in the liftedposition without the aid of any external appliance, and so also that theclosing of the pivoted knuckle will cause the pin to drop into thelocked position. These results I accomplish by constructing the locking-pin itself in two parts, which have a wedging action upon each other,in conjunction with the making of the wall of the passage through whichthe pin works inclined or wedge-shaped, whereby when said two-part pinis pulled or lifted from above by means of its upper part the whole willpass freely up without wedging; but when force is applied to the lowerpart to push or lift it from below the lower part will force or wedgethe upper part out against the inclined wall of the passage, and thusprevent the pin from risnig.

The nature of the invention will be better with the eye cl andtheshoulder ci', has its lower end beveled, as shown in Fig. 5 at d2 cl3d4, and the lower part E has its upper end beveled, as shown at e e e2.Attached to the upper part is a T-shaped projection F, which fits into acorresponding T-shaped slot G in the lower part, so that when the twoparts.

are tted together the lower part is or may be suspended from the upperpart; but the two are free to move one upon the other by reason of theT-shaped projection. Of course it will be understood that the T-shapedslot may be formed in the upper piece and the T- shaped projectionformed on the lower piece without departing from the essential characterof the construction. At the lower portion of the lower piece is therabbetedshoulder e3 to afford a resting-place for the locking-pin whenthe same is in the unlocked position, as indicated at Fig. 2, and in thecoupling-head Aat the lower end of the passage through which way throughthe draw-head in which the locking-pin works is shown at II and is afour- IOO sided passage conforming to the section or outline of thelocking-pin and may have three vertical sides. One of the sides H is,however, made inclined, so that the entire passage-way is larger at itslower end than at its upper, constituting a wedge-shaped opening.

It will now be understood that when the pin is in the locked position,as indicated in Fig. l, it may be lifted from the eye d freely upwardwithout any wedging action being produced, because the inclined faces ofthe two parts of the locking-pin will slide upon each other, causing thelocking-pin toassume its narrowest form, and the pin is thus easilylifted through the passage; but if when in the locked position force isapplied to the lower member of the locking-pin the contrary effect willbe produced, the point of the wedge, incline, or lower member willthereby be forced behind the upper member and said upper member beforced out against the inclined wall of the passage-way, and thelocking-pin be thus wedged against movement.

I prefer to adjust the position of the eye d, to which the lifting-chainconnected with the ordinary bell-crank shaft is attached, so that whenthe locking-pin is lifted from this eye the tendency will be to throwthe inner end of the locking-pin forward against the inclined surface IIand cause the shoulder e3 to engage the shelf e4, and thus cause thelocking-pin to be supported without riding on the tail of the knuckle,Where it is liable to wear and jar, and it will be noticed that theextreme lower end of the locking-pin projects below the shelf e4 in aposition to be struck by a projection .I on the tail of the knuckle whenthe knuckle is closed, and this projection,striking against the lowerend of the locking-pin, forces the pin oif of the shelf e4, when, therebeing nothing to support it, said pin falls down into the closedposition, with its lower member resting on the floor of the draw-head inposition to lock the knuckle against opening, and the upper member fallsdown into the wedging position indicated in Fig. l.

I prefer to have the inclined face of the passage in the draw-head onthe front side of said passage, because it permits the employment of theshelf e4 and the supporting of the locking-pin and its automaticdisplacement by means of a projection on the tail of the knuckle, asabove described, which I consider the best form; but, except for this,it is obinclined one, and I do not wish to limit myself in this respect.

It Will be found that the improved coupler which I have hereindescribed, while it retains all of the advantages of the best forms ofthe modern coupler without any interference with its functions andoperations, is so contrived that the locking-pin cannot creep up underthe action and movement of the cars in use, and they may be readilylifted in the ordinary way, and when lifted will hold itself in thatposition until the coupling is effected.

I claiml. In a car-coupling consisting of a drawhead and a pivotedknuckle, the combination with said draw-head and knuckle of anautomat-ic gravity locking-pin made in two members or parts with awedging connection between them, substantially as specified, wherebywhile the pin may be lifted freely from its upper member it is preventedfrom creeping up in use.

2. The combination of the pivoted knuckle, the coupling-head, the latterhaving a passage-way with an inclined side for a lockingpin, and thelocking-pin made in two parts or members with a wedging connectionbetween said members, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination with the coupling-head of the two-part wedge-actinglock, the coupling-head having a wedge-shaped opening largest at itslower end, to receive the upper part or member of the lock and preventcreeping of said lock, substantially as specified.

et. The combination with the pivoted knuckle, the draw-head having apassage therethrough an inclined side, of the two- .part locking-pin thetwo members of which' have a wedging connection, the shoulder at thelower end of the locking-pin,the shelf at the lower end of the passage,and the projection on the tail of the knuckle, substantially asspecified.

5. The combination with the knuckle and the draw-head having a wedgingpassage-way or opening I'I II/ for the upper member of the lock to bindagainst, ofv a locking-pin made of two members capable of being liftedfreely by the upper member and incapable of heilig pushed up by forceapplied to the lower member, substantially as specified.

.I AMES MUNTON.

ICO

Witnesses:

S. E. CURTIS, H. M. MUNDAY.

